[OLPC-AU] Host AP on XO-1.75 and XO-3

[Kevin Gordon]

On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 4:25 AM, Peter Robinson <pbrobinson at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 8:51 AM, Sridhar Dhanapalan
> <sridhar at laptop.org.au> wrote:
> > Just wondering whether the XO-1.75 and XO-3 will be capable of hosting
> > a wireless network.
> >
> > I'm asking because we are interested in using an XO as a lightweight XS
> server.
>
> The XO 1.75 uses the exact same wifi module as the 1.5 so the
> functionality is the same, and so you'll be able to on the 1.75,
> there's still discussion on the OS for the 3.0 but then I'm not sure
> how usable a tablet would be as a server anyway.
>

If I could be so bold as to posit to the community:  I'm not sure whether
the request as stated, and answer as given, is actually the case, in an
out-of-the box, especially  if you have a mixed XO environment.  If by
acting as an AP, you mean appearing on the neighbourhood view as an AP, and
not a peer, and then providing a shared internet connection, in my
experience, that really isn't provided by a vanilla install of the XO
software, even on the 1.5.

Once all the XO buddies (XO 1 and 1.5) atttach to a 'real' AP, all machines
on that AP can see each other, and get out to the Internet through the AP's
running as a router.  In the other case, in a mixed XO1 and XO1.5
environment where everyone attaches to a single XO 1.5 on the ad-hoc
network, without some custom routing entries, I can't see it providing a
shared internet connection.  Not to say it cant be done, but I haven't found
it to work that way out of the box.

So, I guess it depends on what you mean by 'using an XO as a lightweight XS
server', and whether you will install your own O/S and a subset of the
existing XS code on the 1.75,  pretty much like you would have too to on
the1.5 to get it to act like a real AP and router and server.  Putting a
wireless router an AP in the middle with a default route to another XO  on a
separate subnet running some XS server code that in turn connects  out maybe
the USB ethernet port to the WAN might work.  Without some real  router
protocols active, hairpinning issues will also arise if you try to just hook
back to the same subnet.

So bottom line (unless I'm way out of the loop in ancient history - which
sometimes happens) , is that from what Peter is saying, if you already have
an acceptable infrastucture which is currently working on an XO 1.5, then
there is no reason for it not to work on a 1.75.  However it would be my
prediction that if you were hoping to have a vanilla XO 1.75 now run as a
WAP, that may still not be as simple as you want.

Cheers

KG






> Peter
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